June 29, 2011

lets talk about husbands....

we recently celebrated 9 years of marriage!
hubby was on a business trip in portland.
while i shuttled kids to and from little bear's therapy appointments.

life for us is crazy busy.
hubby's working like a mad man.
i'm working like crazy to see how much i can make,
we're raising our kids.
absorbing all we can in little bear's therapy sessions
and we have a 2 year old who thinks he runs the place
and we're just his giants, here to please.

we don't date.
by the time we get the kids to bed
we sink into our couch and 9 times out of 10
i fall asleep.

we're tired.
we're distant.
we miss eachother.

now comes the surprise...
hubby got home from portland late friday night, around 11ish.
i was outside visiting with some of our fav neighbors
when he came over and said
"honey, we need to get to bed. we have to be up early tomorrow."
i listened, we went to bed. who am i to argue with sleep???
saturday morning, 6:30 a.m. - "Honey, wake up. we have to get the kids packed and out to my parents asap, we have an 8:45 boat to catch."
{squealing like a little girl}

{if you're ever in the Grants Pass area, these are a must!}
i have been d.y.i.n.g. to go on these.
they have breakfast trips, dinner trips, scenic trips, and white water trips.

hubby signed us up for the champagne brunch trip.
4 blissful hours of scenic boat trip down the rogue river.
our driver was excellent, pointed out all the wildlife.
we stopped at the OK Corral for breakfast.
h.e.a.v.e.n.
then the ride back the driver gets crazy
spins the boat, jumps over waves made by the other boat traveling with us.
you get wet.
you laugh.
some squeal.
it was awesome!
when we got done
hubby took me home to change
packed a cooler full of our favorite river drinks and snacks
and off we went to find our own little piece of heaven on the rogue river.
we sat for a few hours just talking and laughing.
he took me to dinner at the Galice Resort. {my absolute fav!}
it's one of those places everyone stops at when they get off the river.
all outdoor seating.
live band.
everyone is in their swim suits and flip flops.
and the bacon cheeseburgers are to.die.for.
it was just the break
this adorable couple needed.

and if that wasn't enough....

we packed an overnight bag and hubby took me here.
the beautiful bed and breakfast we went to
on our wedding night
9 crazy years ago.
the couple that run this place, Marla and John, are amazing.
they remembered us! {crazy}
we got caught up on the last 9 years.
oohhs and aahhs over our 3 boys.
it was wonderful.
then they showed us to our room.
we got the vintage suite with our own private patio.
the details in this place are stunning.
the toilet paper was made
into a little rose!
we sipped champagne
walked around the garden and found a hammock
where we snuggled and laughed until dark.
and i did something i haven't done in years....
i took a bath.
with bath salts.
and a cute rubber ducky.
funny side story about our bathroom...
the owner, John, was showing us around and this giant window overlooks the gardens.
he says it's a one-way window, but if that still made us uncomfortable
we could close the blinds {which i did}
however...as it got dark outside and we were walking around,
we noticed something...

the "one-way window" had actually been put in backwards.
this is the view from the inside of the bathroom looking out.
see, you can see me, just like a mirror.
this is the view from the outside in the gardens.
see, you can see right in the damn thing!
we laughed so hard we cried.
then we thought of how many people left those blinds open when they took baths.
then we laughed again till it hurt.

and we're still laughing about it.

so....

how is that for the most amazing husband in the world!?!?
it was just what the doctor ordered.
i got my married smile back,
which is much different than a mommy smile.

i heart this man
and our special day together.

June 28, 2011

swim{party}

to celebrate this sweet face turning the big 5!
 we went out to my sis-in-laws for a birthday swim party.
the weather was perfect.
we had a great lunch of mini-cheeseburgers
and the kids got to spend the whole day with their cousins.
between the 2 of us
we have 6 kids.
4 boys and 2 girls.
exhausting to say the least
 this one loves to be the center of attention,
but for some reason today she was just feeling
some quiet time.
  isn't she adorable!
Happy Birthday Bear!

June 23, 2011

summer{is}

 not a cloud in the sky...
reading a good book
{with actual pages to turn}
 corn getting bigger...
 tomatoes growing for salsa...
 fresh lettuce for salads
any time we want...
 a garden finally starting to bloom...
saying "thanks for all the hard work"
 keeping birthday decorations up
because that was just the first of many get togethers.
 temperatures getting close to triple digits.
 giant patio umbrellas that will soon be covered in little
white christmas lights
setting the scene for late night entertaining.
 sprinklers and otter pops
{yum, remember those!}

 grilling every meal you can 
just to stay out of the kitchen
 using fresh ingredients
for simple, yet delicious meals.

summer is about company.
getting together with friends, neighbors, family.
enjoying the sunshine,
longer days,
warm nights,
the smell of sunscreen on babies
{i wish they could make that into a candle}
and slower paces.
summer is my time to breath.

if you're ever in the neighborhood...
feel free to stop on by!

June 20, 2011

small{craft}project

 nothing fancy
just a little craft project i threw together
so easy.
so free.
and so adorable!

daddy's {special} day

 for father's day
the weather couldn't have been better
in honor of daddy {and all the water toys we got the day before}
we decided to have a backyard day of
 fun.in.the.sun.

the neighbor boys came over for the whole day
to celebrate our daddy swim and play in the water.
 seriously, how handsome is this man...
and he's all mine!
 we had such a great day outside.
how could something that looks like this
not be a good time!?!?
 i think i took about 1000 pictures of this one
he was just so adorable with the big boys.
 at one point this is what our kids looked like
while the rest of the neighbor boys continued to play.
{sun/fun overload}
 still chillin in the shade...
we grilled tri-tip and crab on the bbq
and i got our first harvest of lettuce from our garden.
{so exciting}
no better way to end your father's day
than a snuggle with the ones that gave you the title in the first place
happy father's day to all the amazing daddy's out there!